Myanmar’s agriculture minister to boost rice production

Created: Monday, 16 May 2016 07:32

Improving the supply of water in Myanmar is expected to increase rice exports. (Image source: lefebvre-jonathan)Reparing Myanmar’s dams and canals could more than double the supply of water to rice-growing areas and could increase rice exports, stated the country's deputy agriculture minister

For two decades, the dams and canals had been neglected and lowered the nation’s production said the deputy minister. He said repair work will begin with Thaphan Seik dam – one of the longest dams in Southeast Asia – in Sagaing Region.

“During the next 100 days, we will deepen dams that have silted up and repair leaks in canals,” he said. “We will do everything we can with the budget we have,” he said.

Thaphan Seik has been chosen as the first as it delivered water to most areas in Sagaing, Myanmar’s second-biggest rice bowl.

“We will deepen the dam so it can store more water and repair cracks in the canals. One canal can deliver water to 500,000 acres, but because of cracks that capacity has fallen to about 200,000 acres. Our repairs will enable the dam and the canals to greatly increase the volume of water supplied to farmlands,” he said.